Bae Joon-ho (20) is expected to remain in Stoke City next season.
On the 25th, Stoke announced the number of the Stoke squad confirmed for the upcoming season, saying, "Bae Joon-ho's jersey number, who was selected as the club's player of the year last season, has been changed to No. 10."
Bae Jun-ho, who left Daejeon Hana Citizen in the K League 1 last summer and wore the Stoke No. 22, has been playing in the stadium. In his first year as a member of the club, he played 38 games, scored two goals and five assists, earning the nickname "King of Stoke."
In response, Stoke boldly entrusted Bae with the number 10, which symbolizes the ace player. Considering that the numbers were assigned only to top-notch players such as Ricardo Fuller, Marco Arnautovic of Inter, and Eric Maxim Choupomoting, this shows how much the club has high expectations for Bae.
Not only that, but Stoke put Bae as its main model when it unveiled its new uniform. Bae, who proudly took the center of the promotional photo for the third uniform, previously decorated the Stoke website and various channels when the home and away uniforms were announced.
Bae Jun-ho, who is considered to be responsible for the future of Korean soccer, is also one of the top prospects in the English Football League (EFL) Championship. He played in the starting position even at a young age when he was in the K-League, and participated in the FIFA U-20 World Cup last year, where he was impressed by the leading big club scouts.
In recognition of his skills, he also attracted interest from various big clubs. In fact, Feyenoord Rotterdam is known to have sent a proposal to Bae Joon-ho, and according to past reports by British media "Team Talk", three Premier League teams, as well as Bundesliga and Serie A teams, are rumored to have participated in the recruitment competition. 홀짝게임
The transfer is unlikely to be easy as Stoke is putting it up as a sign. "Stoke has declared his intention not to sell Bae Joon-ho, and I believe he will play a key role in promoting to the Premier League," said Fraser Gillan, a reporter at Team Talk who is familiar with Stoke's news.